Trader Joe's Manitaropita

Dear People of Greece: Thank you so much for continuing to create delicious dishes that consist of phyllo dough filled with amazingly good stuff.

I was kind of surprised when I realized that I hadn't reviewed these yet. I have loved the Trader Joe's manitaropita for years, and they are one of my TJ's staples, but somehow they flew under the review radar until now. And we all know how much I like appetizers or finger foods as dinner, so I figured it was high time I wrote about this.



The easiest way to explain what manitaropita is might be to tell you to think of spanakopita...except rather than the puff pastry being filled with spinach and feta cheese, it's filled with mushrooms in a white wine sauce.

Trader Joe's manitaropita needs to be baked in the oven. The package specifically says not to microwave them -- and having done that out of laziness once, I can tell you that the package's admonition is a wise one.



No worries, though, because baking them is as simple as it sounds. Just pre-heat the oven and then toss them in. They only take about 10 minutes to bake. The phyllo dough (and really, does it take much more then phyllo dough to make something good?) rises to golden, flaky happiness. The many paper-thin layers add a nice crunch and interesting texture.



Trader Joe is generous with the mushroom filling -- which is a good thing, as the filling is excellent. The mushrooms are remarkably non-rubbery and have a rich, almost beefy taste.

The mushrooms are done in a white wine sauce. The sauce itself actually has a delicate, lightly herbed taste. If I had to pick out a single spice that stands out, I would have to say it's oregano. Just think of it! Mushrooms, white wine, oregano...all stewed together and encased in flaky phyllo...if the very notion doesn't bring a smile to your face, don't complain to me: complain to a doctor!

This is truly one of my favorite Trader Joe's products. It's satisfying as a meal on its own, and I would also be very pleased to serve them to company as an appetizer.



PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

PRICE:
$3.99

CALORIES:
80 calories per piece.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Made on equipment shared with eggs and tree nuts, at a facility that processes peanuts, fish and shellfish.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
traderjoes.com

Trader Joe's Tarte d'Champignon

The full name of this product is "Trader Joe's Tarte d'Champignon -- A French Style Flat Bread with Mushrooms, Emmental & Parmesan Cheese." In plain English, the name of this product is mushroom pizza.

But, like everyone else, I have my days where I just want to be a little "bougie," and damned if Tarte d'Champignon doesn't sound classier than pizza. Ya know what? While I am fantasizing, I would also like to pretend that said Tarte was not only made especially for me, but fed to me by hand by Anthony Bourdain -- you know, back in the days when he was a bad ass. Not the domesticated, weenified Anthony Bourdain who subjected the world to this:



That's one version of Tony I do not wish to play doctor with!

Anyway, back to the review...



This Tarte d'Champignon is a thin puff pastry crust that is topped with a mixture of crème fraîche (if you're unfamiliar, think of the best sour cream ever -- only thicker and less sour -- and you would have crème fraîche) and Emmental cheese (sometimes also referred to as Swiss cheese in the U.S.) "sauce" (it's more of a spread). The topping has five different types of mushrooms, which include porcini, Paris, oyster, shiitake, and boletus, and then the whole thing gets a light sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and parsley.



I officially don't care what they call it, because it was so good it almost takes the sting away from seeing what my once-beloved Tony Bourdain has been reduced to.

They don't recommend that you microwave this item, and I think you'd be crazy if you did. Just follow the simple baking directions and you'll be fine. The puff pastry crust is super-thin and the outer edges crisped perfectly. The bottom, sadly, stayed a little too soft -- but I have a feeling that was more the fault of my baking sheet and/or my oven than of the product itself. (Incidentally, it stuck to the sheet in several places, and was extremely difficult to remove without reducing it to a mess of gooey shreds. So even though the box doesn't mention it, you really might want to grease your baking sheet beforehand.)



The cheese "sauce": again, it's more of what I would consider a spread than a true sauce. The consistency is somewhat similar to whipped cream cheese. It's really savory. I love the tangy zip that the cheese brings. The easiest way to describe it is to tell you to think of a good, strong Swiss cheese.

The mushrooms: They are a little more sparse than I would have liked, but they are meaty and moist without being soggy or rubbery. I won't lie -- outside of the porcini and the shiitake, I couldn't tell you which 'shroom was which, but they all tasted pretty darn good.

This was just outstanding. Snark aside, it is waaaa-a-a-a-ay more special than a mere mushroom pizza. I really can't say enough nice things about it. Everything about it is delicious.

Definitely one of Trader Joe's best frozen options. Actually, one of the best frozen foods you'll find anywhere.



PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

PRICE:
$3.99

CALORIES:
300 calories per half tarte

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Made on equipment shared with eggs, fish, and shellfish.

McDonald's Angus Third Pounder Burger with Mushrooms & Swiss

The Angus Third Pounders have been national for a few months now, though I actually tried my first one last summer. (My local McDonald's is a regional West Coast test store.) I didn't review it at the time because, as it was merely being test marketed, there was a good chance it would never become a menu standard. Once it did go national, Marvo over at The Impulse Buy was brave enough to review all three Angus burgers without a cardiologist on hand...and luckily for the rest of us, did live to review again.



The Mushroom & Swiss Angus burger is a fairly simple burger. The bun is a "grown up" sesame seed bakery style roll. The topping is mayo, Swiss cheese and mushrooms. Let me pat McDonald's on the back for the mushrooms. No, they are not fresh mushrooms (that would have been awesome, but c'mon, it's still McDonald's) but they are reasonably un-rubbery. They also manage not to be greasy or slimy. They add a nice texture and taste, and thankfully they don't slide off in a mushy grey sluglike sludge. (Yes, Carl's Jr, I am glaring right at you. J'accuse!)

The burger isn't drowning in the mayo. The Swiss cheese is serviceable and melted nicely.



The burger itself is the same diameter as your average Quarter Pounder, but it is thicker. The flavor is much more "beefy" than your average McDonald's burger...in fact, it's extra beefy to the point I have to wonder if some sort of beef flavor was added. The texture is more like a burger you might make at home. The only drawback is that it was dry. As in Metamucil Biscuits dry. I found myself wishing that I could put this topping on the Carl's Six Dollar Burger because that would have been outstanding (and yes, I know I could just put my own toppings on the burger of my choice...but if I am going that far, I may as well just do the whole thing from scratch).

Minus the dryness of the patty--which could have been just bad luck on my part; maybe mine wasn't quite fresh off the grill--I have to say this is one of the best burger options Mickey D has on the current menu.



PURCHASED FROM:
McDonalds

Carl's Jr.: The Portobello Mushroom Six Dollar Burger

Back in the day, when I was somewhere around five or six years old, Carl's Jr. was the fast food I would beg for.

Because it was also the only place we ever lived within walking distance of, my grandmother, who watched us during the day (and didn't drive) would often break down and take me there; mostly to shut me up. Nowadays, I am less of a fan than I used to be -- sorry, guys, it's hard to compete with the legendary In-N-Out -- but I do like their Six Dollar Burger. And every now and then, I just have to have one. Also, as I love mushrooms on pretty much anything, it seemed as if this burger should be a slam dunk.



The burger itself is doesn't disappoint. The meat has a nice grilled taste. They don't go overboard on the mayo, and the cheese is serviceable. Yeah, they do put somewhere around half a head of lettuce on it, but that seems to be the new standard.

The problem with this burger is the mushrooms. They're slimy. Really slimy -- like snail trail slimy. They taste good enough -- by probably-canned, highly preserved, not-fresh standards. You can definitely taste that at some point in their lives they had been earthy and meaty, just a little chewy, and all the things that a good mushroom should be. Oh, what a thing it might have been if not for the fact that somewhere down the road, something evil turned them into the blackish puddle of muck that floats in a grease river on top of the burger. And in a final insult upon injury, there were even herbs added to the mushrooms to add further flavor. But, like the 'shrooms themselves, the herbs don't have any life left either, and in fact I can't tell you which herbs they once were.

But for some reasonably fresh mushrooms, this would have been a terrific fast food burger. It's actually hard to rate this one because the burger itself is damn good...but, since it is advertised as a Portobello Mushroom burger, we have to give the sorry mushrooms their due. Thus, in the end, I can't rate this one highly at all.


PURCHASED FROM:
Carl's Jr

Buitoni Wild Mushroom Agnolotti

If you have read this site for any length of time you probably have noticed I don't review a heck of a lot of Italian products.
Clearly, it's not for lack of new things to try- it's just that I am incredibly picky about Italian food (being Italian) and because of that I don't feel like I can give a very fair shake to some products. That being said one of the perks of being a member of Food Buzz is that every so often they send me out new products. This time I was sent out the new Wild Mushroom Agnolotti from Buitoni. I like mushrooms, I like ravioli and my family was too lazy to make there own so I have no predisposed feeling on ready made.


I followed the instructions of tossing them with a little olive oil but because I had none of my own sauce on hand (I am a sauce snob) I ate them "bare".

I have to admit they are not the most attractive thing I have ever eaten but damned if they were good!
The pasta skins are fresh and they actually came out al dente! One of the things about frozen ravioli is that it can be rubbery but there was no such problem here (probably because they are "fresh" rather then frozen). The mushroom filled center (made with cremini and portobello's) is earthy and meaty. The roasted garlic actually tastes sweet and caramelized. The cheese add's a nice sharp tang and adds a thicker texture to the filling.

I liked these enough that I will definitely buy them for myself. There were the inevitable couple of ravioli that "exploded" but I have never been able to avoid that happening so I am prone to thinking it is something that I do rather then a problem with the pasta it's self.

I may have to give the Buitoni tortellini a try!

Rating:



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample From Food Buzz